John Piper on the Duty of Worship

"The real duty of worship is not the outward duty to say or do the liturgy.  It is the inward duty, the command: 'Delight yourself in the LORD!' (Psalm 37:4).  'Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice!" (Psalm 32:11).

"The reason this is the real duty of worship is that it honors God, while the empty performance of ritual does not.  If I take my wife out for the evening on our anniversary and she asks me, 'Why you do this?' the answer that honors her most is 'Because nothing makes me happier tonight than to be with you.'

"'It's my duty' is a dishonor to her.

"'It's my joy' is a honor.

"How shall we honor God in worship?  By saying, 'It's my duty'?  Or by saying, 'It's my joy'?

"Worship is a way of reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.  Now we see that the mirror the catches the rays of His radiance and reflects them back in worship is the joyful heart.  Another way of saying this is to say, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever'"  (John Piper, Desiring God).

John Piper on Worship as an End in Itself

"A non-treasured Christ is a nonsaving Christ.  Faith has in it this element of valuing, embracing, prizing, relishing Christ.  It is like a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field and 'from joy' sells all his treasures to have that field (Matthew 13:44). . . The locomotive of fact is not headed for heaven if it is not followed by a faith that treasures Christ and if it is not pulling a caboose-load of new, though imperfect, affections.

"Now what does this imply about the feast of worship?  Surprisingly, it implies that worship is an end in itself.  We do not eat the feast of worship as a means to anything else.  Happiness in God is the end of all our seeking.  Nothing beyond it can be sought as a higher goal.  John Calvin put it like this: 'If God contains the fullness of all good things in himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strike after the highest good and all the elements of happiness.'

"If what transforms outward ritual into authentic worship is the quickening of the heart's affections, then true worship cannot be performed as a means to some other experience.  Feelings are not like that.  Genuine feelings of the heart cannot be manufactured as stepping stones to something else" (John Piper, Desiring God).

John Calvin on Why God Forbids Images of Him

"When once men imagined that they beheld God in images, they also worshiped him as being there.  At length their eyes and minds becoming wholly engrossed by them, they began to grow more and more brutish, gazing and wondering as if some divinity were actually before them.  It hence appears that men do not fall away to the worship of images until they have [swallowed] some idea of a grosser description: not that they actually believe them to be gods, but the the power of divinity somehow or other resides in them.  Therefore, whether it be God or a creature that is imaged, the moment you fall prostrate before it in veneration, you are so far fascinated by superstition.  For this reason, the Lord not only forbade the erection of statues to himself, but also the consecration of titles and stones which might be set up for adoration.  For as soon as a visible form is given to God, his power also is supposed to be annexed to it.  So stupid are men, that wherever they figure God, there they fix him, and by necessary consequence proceed to adore him.  It makes no difference whether they worship the idol simply, or God in the idol; it is always idolatry when divine honors are paid to an idol, be the color what it may.  And because God wills not to be worshiped superstitiously, whatever is bestowed upon idols is so much robbed from him" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin).

J.C. Ryle on Christ as All in the Religion of All True Christians

"I wish to guard myself against being misunderstood.  I hold the absolute necessity of the election of God the Father, and the sanctification of God the Spirit, in order to effect the salvation of everyone that is saved.  I hold that there is a perfect harmony and unison in the action of the three People of the Trinity, in bringing any man to glory, and that all three cooperate and work a joint work in his deliverance from sin and hell.  Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.  The Father is merciful, the Son is merciful, the Holy Spirit is merciful.  The same Three who said at the beginning, 'Let us create,' said also, 'Let us redeem and save.'  I hold that everyone who reaches heaven will ascribe all the glory of this salvation to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three People in one God.

"But, at the same time, I see clear proof in Scripture, that it is the mind of the blessed Trinity that Christ should be prominently and distinctly exalted, in the matter of saving souls.  Christ is set forth as the Word, through whom God's love to sinners is made known.  Christ's incarnation and atoning death on the cross are the great cornerstone on which the whole plan of salvation rests.  Christ is the way and door, by which alone approaches to God are to be made.  Christ is the root into which all elect sinners must be grafted.  Christ is the only meeting-place between God and man, between heaven and earth, between the Holy Trinity and the poor sinful child of Adam.  It is Christ whom God the Father has sealed and appointed to convey life to a dead world (John 6:27).  It is Christ to whom the Father has given a people to be brought to glory.  It is Christ of whom the Spirit testifies, and to whom He always leads a soul for pardon and peace.  In short, it has 'pleased the Father that in Christ all fullness should dwell' (Col. 1:19).  What the sun is in the skies of heaven, that Christ is in true Christianity" (Holiness, J.C. Ryle).

John Calvin on God's Opposition to Idols, Part II

"In the Law, accordingly, after God had claimed the glory of divinity for himself alone, when he comes to show what kind of worship he approves and rejects, he immediately adds, 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth' (Exod. 20:4).  By these words he curbs any licentious attempt we might make to represent him by a visible shape, and briefly enumerates all the forms by which superstition had begun, even long before, to turn his truth into a lie.  For we know the the sun was worshiped by the Persians.  As many stars as the foolish nations saw in the sky, so many gods they imagined them to be.  Then to the Egyptians, every animal was a figure of God.  The Greeks, again, plumed themselves on their superior wisdom in worshiping God under the human form (Maximus Tyrius [of Tyre], Platonic Serm. 38).  But God makes no comparison between images, as if one were more, and another less befitting; he rejects, without exception, all shapes and pictures, and other symbols by which the superstitious imagine they can bring him near to them" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin).

Rivers of Living Water

“Once in my army days, I was commanding a reconnaissance unit in a scalding desert, with temperatures in excess of 130 degrees.  We were operating far forward of our own lines, which made it hard to get supplies.  On one occasion our resupply did not arrive, and we went without water for most of the day.  I attempted to radio for help, but my tongue was so swollen that my speech could not be understood.  Fortunately, one of my enterprising sergeants was returning from having his vehicle repaired in the rear areas.  He overheard my radio call, raced over to a supply unit, hitched a ‘water buffalo’ to the back of his tank, and within a couple of hours brought our desperately needed relief, possibly saving our lives.  It is to needs of this severity that Jesus spoke when he cried, ‘If anyone thirsts’” (Richard D. Phillips).

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we study John 7:37-39 and humanity’s deep, spiritual thirst that can only be quenched by God.  May we be prayerfully prepared to hear and respond to the truth of God’s Word.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Judging

Joseph Stowell once wrote, “Discernment in Scripture is the skill that enables us to differentiate.  It is the ability to see issues clearly.  We desperately need to cultivate this spiritual skill that will enable us to know right from wrong.  We must be prepared to distinguish light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement, and principles from pragmatics.”

The disciple of Christ is called to judge rightly.  This is not a judging of people, but of the teaching from leaders, pastors, and other disciples of Christ.  In John 7:14-24 Jesus provides us with practical ways to judge rightly between right and wrong, truth from error, and light from dark. What is God’s Word really saying?  How can we discern between truth and error?  And how can we know that Jesus’ words are truth?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we search the words of Christ for truth and seek to cultivate the skill of discernment in our own walk with Christ.  May we be prayerfully prepared to encounter God this week and allow him to mold, change, and encourage us in our faith.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Life in Christ is Hard

Dave Ramsey once said, “If we want to be thin we should do what thin people do.”  In other words, if we really want to be healthy there is a price to pay, sacrifices that must be done.  Many of us who desire to be more healthy would love to wake up tomorrow morning having been completely transformed overnight, with no effort or sacrifice on our own part.  But that is not reality.  Transformation takes effort, time, and sacrifice, but many are not willing to pay the price.

After teaching the crowd what they must believe and give up to follow him, Jesus witnesses a mass exodus.  The cost of being his disciple was too great to many, so they left.  Why did Jesus not stop them from leaving?  What about the price was so high?  What is the difficulty in following Jesus?  What encouragement is there in is teachings for the true disciple of Christ?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we study what John 6:60-71 teaches us about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ and why that cost is too great for so many.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Children in the Storms of Life

In 1789 Rev. John Newton, the author of the famous hymn Amazing Grace, played a major role in the difficult effort to abolish slavery in the British Empire.  But in the midst of that effort a much more difficult circumstance occurred when Polly, his wife of forty years, became very ill.  For nearly eighteen months her condition slowly worsened and each day became an agonizing wait for her death.  On December 15, 1790, Polly Newton died after a long, painful, and strenuous battle. 

The same day Polly passed away, John Newton was visiting the sick in his church and preparing for the sermon he would give the following Sunday.  He even gave the eulogy at Polly’s funeral, something that was looked down upon by the people of that time.  Many saw John’s actions as uncaring and unloving, but it was far from the truth.

John Newton struggled through an eighteen-month storm, slowly watching the life of his wife ebb away.  That storm could have easily turned him away from God, but instead his faith increased and his love and reliance upon God strengthened.  So much so that he was able to move forward in life quickly, knowing he would see her again and that the Father would be his constant strength and rescuer in times of need.

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we look at John 6:16-21.  In this passage Jesus walks on the water in the midst of a storm, while his disciples struggle through the wind and waves to get their boat to shore.  May we be prayerfully prepared to discover how the Father takes care of his children in the midst of the storms of life, even when those children are sinking under the waves.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Easter Morning

What else is there to say?  We serve a risen Savior!

Resurrection and Life

This Sunday at ElmCreek Community Church we will be looking at John 5:25-29.  In this passage Jesus explains that life is found in Him alone, for He is God and Judge of everyone.  But this life is not just something that all believers can look forward to.  It is life that can be experienced now.  And once this life is experienced there is no denying its reality for the believer.

Kent Hughes tells the following story:

“Years ago the great G. Campbell Morgan was preaching in Tennessee.  During the sermon he stated, ‘By no means can every Christian remember the time when he was born again.’  At the end of the sermon someone challenged his statement.  Morgan turned to him and asked the man, ‘Are you alive?’  The man said, ‘Why of course I am!’  Morgan said, ‘Do you remember when you were born?’  The man said, ‘No, but I know I am living.’  Morgan replied, ‘Exactly.  Some Christians may not remember the moment of their new birth.  But they are spiritually alive and know it and that is what counts.’  You can know you have eternal life.  When the dead hear the voice of Christ, they enter into that relationship of life.” 

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as together we give worship and praise to Jesus, the giver of life.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Mark

Stewardship - Treasure

Jesus Christ has a very interesting view of money.  In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus and his disciples witness many wealthy individuals placing large amounts of money into an offering box at the temple.  They also witness a poor widow give “two small copper coins” amounting to 1/64 of a day’s wage, far short of the amounts given by the wealthy.  Using it as a teachable moment, Jesus’ response is not what the disciples expect.

Over the past two Sundays we have been wrestling with the topic of stewardship in Matthew 25:14-30.  God calls us to be good stewards of the time, talents, and treasure given to us.  What does it look like practically to be a good steward not only in our daily life but also as a member of the body of Christ?  Our goal as His people is to have a biblical view of our finances and how God calls us to steward the treasure He has given us.

Join us at ElmCreek Community Church as we strive together to live out the truth of God’s Word, obeying His commands out of love for Him.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

John Calvin on the Seed of Divine knowledge

"While man must bear the guilt of corrupting the seed of divine knowledge so wondrously deposited in his mind, and preventing it from bearing good and genuine fruit, it is still most true that we are not sufficiently instructed by that bare and simple, but magnificent testimony which the creatures bear to the glory of their Creator.  For no sooner do we, from a survey of the world, obtain some slight knowledge of Deity, than we pass by the true God, and set up in his stead the dream and phantom of our own brain, drawing away the praise of justice, wisdom, and goodness, from the fountain-head, and transferring it to some other quarter.  Moreover, by the erroneous estimate we form, we either so obscure or pervert his daily works, as at once to robe them of their glory and the author of them of his just praise" (John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion).

John Calvin on Having Our Own Views of God

"We must hold, that whosoever adulterates pure religion (and this must be the case with all who cling to their own views), make a departure from the one God.  No doubt they will allege that they have a different intention; but it is of little consequence what they intend or persuade themselves to believe, since the Holy Spirit pronounces all to be apostates, who, in the blindness of their minds, substitute demons in the place of God.  For this reason Paul declares that the Ephesians were 'without God' (Eph. 2:12), until they had learned from the gospel what it is to worship the true God" (John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion).

Stewardship - Time

Growing up I was what you may call a procrastinator.  I’m not the “late to a meeting” type of guy, but a “wait until the night before” kind of guy.  One such incident happened while attending seminary, the night before a six-page book report was due for one of my classes.  I had read the book (well, skimmed it mostly) but had yet to put any words on paper.  I spent four to five hours that night writing my report, stressing about finishing it on time, and praying I received a decent grade.  In the end, all the stress, legs falling asleep for sitting at the computer so long, and going to bed late could have easily been avoided if I had begun writing the paper days before.  Needless to say, I did not use my time wisely.

Perhaps you too are a procrastinator or have experienced the pain of waiting for a procrastinator, but when it comes to life as a disciple of Christ the temptation to procrastinate is present for everyone.  This week at ElmCreek Community Church we will begin a three-week series in Matthew 25 on the stewardship of our time, talents, and treasures.  Join us at ElmCreek and may we all be prayerfully prepared to submit ourselves to the call and commands of our God.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

J.C. Ryle: The Unsearchable Richness of Christ as both God and Man

Ephesians 3:8 (ESV)

"To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given,

to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."

"Set down, first and foremost, in your minds that there are unsearchable riches in Christ's person.  That miraculous union of perfect Man and perfect God in our Lord Jesus Christ is a great mystery, no doubt, which we have no line to fathom.  It is a high thing; and we cannot attain to it.  But, mysterious as that union may be, it is a mine of comfort and consolation to all who can rightly regard it.  Infinite power and infinite sympathy are met together and combined in our Savior.  If He had been only Man, He could not have saved us.  If He had been only God (I speak with reverence), He could not have been 'touched with the feeling of our infirmities,' nor 'suffered Himself being tempted'  (Heb. 4:15; 2:18).  As God, He is mighty to save; as Man, He is exactly suited to be our Head, Representative, and Friend.  Let those who never think deeply, taunt us, if they will, with squabbling about creeds and dogmatic theology.  But let thoughtful Christians never be ashamed to believe and hold fast the neglected doctrine of the Incarnation, and union of two natures in our Savior.  It is a rich and precious truth that our Lord Jesus Christ is both 'God and Man'" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

Jesus: His Authority

In U.S. Navel Institute Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, Frank Koch illustrates the importance of obeying the Laws of the Lighthouse. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”  "Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.  The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'"  Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees."   The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'"  "I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees."

By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.'"   Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."

We changed course.  (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 153.)

The Jewish leaders criticized Jesus for “working” on the Sabbath when he healed an invalid and commanded him to take up his mat and walk.  But he defended himself by revealing where his authority to do such a thing came from: the Father.

The captain of the battleship above made the mistake of believing he had the greatest authority over all things on the water.  Once his mistake was revealed he quickly and rightly gave way to the authority of the lighthouse.  We too must realize that Christ’s authority over us is supreme and comes directly from the Father.

Join us this week as we hear about Christ’s authority given by the Father and how His authority should affect our life as His disciples.  May we all be prayerfully prepared to hear the Word of God and allow His truth to teach us, mold us, and change us as His people.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Mark

The Power of Jesus Over Sin

“Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally know for his television series Civilization, lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. ‘My whole being,’ Clark wrote, ‘was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before.’ But the ‘gloom of grace,’ as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So he concluded, ‘I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course.’ (Our Daily Bread, February 15, 1994.)”

Lord Clark waited too long.  He didn’t heed the words of Christ, “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”  In Lord Clark’s case, the “worse” was eternal separation from God’s presence.

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we read the words of John 5:1-15 and witness the power of Christ over sin.  May we prayerfully be prepared to encounter His Truth found in His Word.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Seeking Jesus on His Terms

What does faith look like?  How does that faith begin?  What catalyst begins that journey of faith?  How can we know our faith is genuine?  What does Jesus say about genuine faith?  What is the object of our faith?

As I studied John 4:43-54 these are the questions that continued to run through my mind.  The question of genuine faith is not a subject new to us in the book of John.  After cleansing the temple and doing more signs and wonders in the presence of others, many came to believe in his name (John 2).  But Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew their hearts.  Their faith was not genuine.  So, can one believe without believing?  Can genuine, prolonged faith rest upon the miraculous?

 

Heed the words of Oswald Chambers:

“Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace” (Oswald Chambers in Run Today's Race).

Join us this week as we once again look at a great sign of Jesus, the healing of a boy from miles away.  May the Word of God and the Spirit of God speak to each of us, growing us in our faith, and prepare us for His call for our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

God Seek People to Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth

I once had a conversation with a gentleman concerning the type and style of music played during the worship services.  He was very insistent upon a piano and organ playing only hymns found within the hymnal.  All other music or instruments were not appropriate to be used during a worship service.  The reasoning behind his thinking was that true worship of God can only be done through certain types of music and instruments.

Clearly this man misunderstood the meaning of the worship of God.  Worshiping Him is far greater and deeper than music, singing, and instruments.  In John 4:1-45 Jesus uses a conversation with a Samaritan woman living deeply in sin to teach her (and subsequently us) about true worship of God.

Join us this week as we read and study John 4:16-26, seeking where, how, and whom we are called to worship.  May Jesus’ words to this woman drive us to understand and experience the glory and greatness of the one whom we worship.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Mark